The Scarlet Pimpernel Name: ________________________ Handout 1 The French Revolution (1789-1799) 1. Before the Revolution, French society consisted of three groups, or estates, Order the estates based on each estate’s status in society, listing the estate with the highest status first. a. b. c. 2. What groups of people made up the third estate? Which of these groups was the largest? 3. What privileges accorded to the first and second estates were most resented even by the prosperous members of the third estate? 4. Define the terms listed below (helps understanding of why people deeply resented the king). a. absolute monarchy b. divine right of kings 5. Describe briefly the financial crisis that had developed in France. 6. What plan did the Parliament of Paris devise to ease the crisis? 7. The third estate held a majority of the Parliament seats; therefore, they made three demands. What were they? a. b. c. 8. In 1789 the revolutionaries stormed the Bastille, freeing political prisoners. In that year also the national assembly adopted the Decrees of August 4 and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the CitiZen. List two of the important provisions of the decrees. a. Landlords: b. Clergy and Nobles: 9. What guarantees were granted by the Declaration for citizens? 10. What three provisions of the constitution were drafted by the assembly? a. b. c. 11. Which citizens had the right to vote? 12. How did the important legislative acts of the Assembly affect the Roman Catholic Church? 13. What did the Assembly to do the court system? 14. In April 1792 France went to ______________ with _______________________ and ________________________. France was ____________________________ and _________________________. Then the revolutionaries in Paris demanded that the king be ______________________________. Then the Parisians _________________________ Louis XVI and his __________________________ and ended ________________________________________________. 15. What were the September Massacres? 16. What helped to end this crisis on September 20, 1792? 17. Upon opening September 21, 1792, what was the now-famous slogan of the National Convention? 18. What eventually happened to Louis XVI? 19. What was the Mountain? Who were its leaders? 20. Who were the Gironde? What was the Plain? 21. When the Mountain won power in June 1793. What therefore happened to the Girondists? 22. Describe the rule of the Jacobin government and the Reign of Terror. a. Jacobin Government: b. Reign of Terror 23. What were some positive reforms by the Jacobins? 24. How did the Reign of Terror end? 25. Who was Napoleon Bonaparte and what did he do in 1799? 20. Look at the title of Chapter 1. At what part of the Revolution does The Scarlet Pimpernel begin? .